While med-tech dealmaking in the second quarter of 2020 increased by 27% from the first quarter and is in line with the values disclosed during the same period in 2019, M&A money for the industry has fallen significantly.
Novocure Ltd. and Merck & Co. Inc. will work together to test the use of electric fields at specific frequencies in combination with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to treat non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The pair plan to start a phase II pilot study during the second half of Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields in combination with Keytruda as a first-line treatment for intrathoracic advanced or metastatic, PD-L1 positive NSCLC.
Medtronic plc said Wednesday it will purchase Medicrea Group, a French manufacturer of patient-specific 3D printed spinal implants, in a step to further strengthen its spine surgery business. The friendly, all-cash offer is priced at €7 (US$7.98) for each Medicrea share, a 22% over its July 14 closing price. The total value of the deal is approximately €200 million (about US$228 million), which includes roughly €50 million in net cash and liabilities plus about €150 million in equity. Medtronic expects to close the deal by the end of the year, pending regulatory nods in France and the U.S.
BEIJING – U.S.-Taiwan biotech Acepodia Inc., of Burlingame, Calif., and Taipei, has licensed out two of its cell therapy candidates, ACE-1702 and ACE-1655, to Chinese CAR T therapy developer JW Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. to develop and commercialize them in China, Hong Kong and Macau. Acepodia will receive up-front and milestone payments from JW Therapeutics, plus royalties on sales.
Cytokinetics Inc.’s new deal with RTW Investments gives the company a new presence in Asia and a strong influx of cash that should last at least two or three years.
HONG KONG – Zai Lab Ltd. inked a deal to develop and commercialize Turning Point Therapeutics Inc.’s lead drug candidate, repotrectinib, in the greater China markets.
HONG KONG – Tokyo-headquartered Fujifilm Holdings Corp. will increase production of Avigan on the back of a partnership with India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. and Dubai-based Global Response Aid.
DUBLIN – Blueprint Medicines Corp. is banking $775 million, including $675 million up front and another $100 million as an equity investment, from a co-commercialization deal with Roche Holding AG and its Genentech subsidiary involving RET inhibitor pralsetinib. The deal also includes up to $927 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, $90 million of which are described as “near-term,” plus tiered royalties on ex-U.S. sales, ranging from the high-teens to mid-twenties.
BEIJING – Besides advancing its neutralizing antibodies for COVID-19, Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd. is aiming to expand its pipeline. On July 13, it entered a collaboration with Revitope Oncology Inc.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has joined forces with First Genetics JCS to commercialize next-generation sequencing (NGS) diagnostics in Russia. The agreement allows Moscow-based First Genetics to bring its F-Genetics NGS system and in vitro diagnostic assays for reproductive health testing to Russian labs.
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